nodded. Next was the other pretty woman on the team. “Julianne Martinez and Thunder.” The foxhound’s ears twitched at his name and he looked up at her. She patted his head and they followed Leo out the door.
“Max West.” He was the one who’d stood and told them all to head out. Max was tall with short blond hair and blue eyes. He had a wicked-looking scar on his left cheek and Riley couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. “This is Opal.”
Riley shook his hand.
Harper leaned over as Max headed out the door. “Max is the boss,” she whispered. “Everything goes through him.”
“Right.”
All of the agents were friendly enough, but the walls were there. Riley didn’t take it personally. He’d been in law enforcement once upon a time so he got it. They didn’t know anything about him. He could be some thrill seeker who got his kicks by calling in false leads and making everyone jump through hoops. He’d have to prove himself, or at least prove he wasn’t mistaken—or lying—about spotting Morrow.
Another tall, muscular man stepped up and held out a hand. “Ian Slade.” He scratched the ears of the Belgian Malinois at his side. “This is King. Thanks for your help.” He moved on toward the door.
“And last, but not least, I’m Zeke Morrow and this guy here is Cheetah.” The Australian shepherd was a gorgeous animal. All of the dogs were.
“Morrow?” Riley asked.
“Jake’s my brother.”
“Okay, then. I hope we find him fast.”
“That makes all of us.” Zeke’s lips flattened and he walked out the door.
Harper sighed and met Riley’s gaze. “He’s having a hard time.”
“I’m sure,” Riley murmured.
“Now that you’ve met the team, we can get going. We’re all ready to find Jake and put this case to bed. Why don’t you ride with me? Star here has her own area in the vehicle.”
He nodded and followed her out the door to climb into the passenger seat. Star slipped into the back and Harper slid into the driver’s seat. Leo and True walked over. “Is there room for us? There’s no reason to take all the vehicles.”
“Of course. There’s room for True in there with Star for this ride. It’s not that long a trip according to the GPS.” They climbed in and True settled into the designated area with Star. The custom-designed vehicle came with a climate-controlled spot where the dogs had been trained to ride.
The other agents and dogs dispersed themselves between two of the other vehicles. Harper cranked the Chevy and pulled out of the hotel parking lot.
For the next twenty minutes, the three of them made small talk and he learned Harper had graduated from high school and then gone straight into the army. “You didn’t want to make a career of it?”
“Nope, just wanted my degree in Criminal Justice. As soon as I had that and the loans paid off I got out and applied to the FBI. I had pretty decent grades in high school, but nothing that stood out so the army made sense for me. My dad took off when I was little and my mom found her comfort at the bottom of a bottle and eventually died from alcohol poisoning.” She slid a glance at him. “My options were pretty limited. I just knew I didn’t want to be like either of my parents.”
“You’re pretty open about all that.”
She shrugged and smiled. “I’ve come to grips with it. Every once in a while I’ll get asked to do a demonstration at a school and instead of just making it all about the dog, I decided that sharing about my past might help someone make better decisions for their future. Kind of a ‘you might have it bad right now at home, but that doesn’t have to define your future’ thing.”
Riley found himself fascinated by Harper after that short snippet. Fascinated and wanting to know more about her. Which made him leery. He’d just met her so why did she hold such attraction for him? “Where’d you grow up?” he asked before he could bite his tongue on the question.
“In San Diego.”
“Any brothers and sisters?”
“No, I’m an only child.” Her lips twisted. “I was kind of sad about it when I was younger, but all things considered, it was better that way.” She shot him a glance. “What about you?”
His heart aching, he cleared his throat. “I had a sister. She was killed two months ago by Van Blackman, the guy I’m chasing.”
She snapped her head around to look at him then jerked her gaze back to the road. He heard Leo let out a slow breath in the backseat.
“I’m sorry,” Harper said softly.
Leo reached forward and patted him on the shoulder. “I am, too.”
“Thanks. She’s the reason I’m in Drum Creek. I’m originally from Denver, but I got word that my sister’s killer was spotted around this vicinity so headed over the night before last. I thought I saw Van coming out of the general store and followed him. Turned out to be your guy. He looks real similar to Jake Morrow—big build, a few inches over six feet, same hair color...” He shrugged. “Dress them in practically identical clothing and they could almost pass for twins.”
“You left out some of the story last night.”
He shrugged. “The parts I left out weren’t important at the time.” He pointed. “Turn here.”
She did and followed the dirt path around the lake and to a small area where he directed her to park. “This is where I parked the other day or I would have been able to follow him out of the park. I’m familiar with this area so knew he wasn’t going far once he got past that boulder up there. Unfortunately, he drove and was able to get away.” The trees swayed in the summer breeze and right now, the area looked like something one would see on a postcard. Harper shut off the engine and the others behind her did the same.
Once they were all out of the vehicles, they let the dogs take care of business then Harper pulled a baseball cap from a plastic bag and held it in front of Star’s nose. The dog got a good whiff and Harper replaced the hat in the bag then turned to Riley. “I see what you mean about not searching at night. The terrain is rugged. It would be pitch-black at night. Even with large lights and other equipment brought in to help with the search, there’d be no guarantee you wouldn’t miss something.”
“Exactly.”
“All right, lead the way.”
Riley made his way down the trail he’d followed Morrow on yesterday just before lunch. The others fell into step behind him, fanning out, letting their animals sniff and search along the way.
Riley finally reached the area where he’d seen Morrow. “Tell the others to stay back. You don’t want to compromise the scene.”
She lifted a brow but turned and did as he asked. The others stopped.
“Sorry,” he said. “I guess you know how to work a scene.”
“We do.”
She opened the bag and held the hat out to her shepherd again. After she got a whiff, the dog stepped forward, nose to the ground, then in the air. Star went a little ways then sat and gave a low bark right next to the remains of the small campfire. She seemed almost disappointed that it had been so easy and not a challenge to her superior skills.
Special Agent Harper Prentiss turned those electric blue eyes on him. “Well, well, what do you know?” She turned to the others. “He was here.”
“Good,” Riley said. “Because I really need that reward money.”
Harper blinked in surprise, but didn’t pursue the matter. “Okay. Well then, I guess we’ll have to see that you get it. Hopefully, between the seven of us, we’ll pinpoint Jake’s